The big stage didn't do a thing to deter Reading High's Trenity Burdine.

Neither did the big crowd.

Or the big deficit.

"As soon as you get rattled," he reasoned, "you lose."

Burdine didn't get rattled. Not even when his former teammate, Central Catholic's Marcus Dawkins, nearly brought the packed house down at the Sovereign Center Wednesday when he soared above the rim to knock away Burdine's bid for a dunk.

Burdine, the Red Knights' stoic senior wing, simply gathered himself, and his team, and helped complete a huge comeback that lifted Reading over the unbeaten Cardinals 62-57 in a rollicking, mesmerizing and unforgettable Berks Conference semifinal.

The Red Knights (22-2) trailed by 12 points in the third quarter and by eight with 3 1/2 minutes left before Burdine ignited a furious rally that saw his team score 13 straight points - in less than 90 seconds.

As the Knights turned up their defensive pressure and forced a string of turnovers, Burdine turned up his game, scoring a staggering 13 points over the final three minutes, and seven during one 18-second stretch.

The victory puts the Red Knights in the Berks title game Friday against Daniel Boone, a 32-28 winner over Wilson.

When Donovon Jack scored with 2:45 to go the Cardinals (23-1) led 52-45, and Redding called a timeout.

Burdine, who finished with a game-high 23 points, immediately picked Dawkins clean in the backcourt and went in for a layup.

After Dawkins missed the front end of a one-and-one, Burdine fired an outlet pass to Taeshan Huffman, who scored to cut it to 52-49.

The Cards turned it over again - one of eight in the quarter, and 20 for the game - setting up Burdine for a slam. Dawkins swooped in to knock the shot away, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

It only got louder after that, as Reading's Xavier Mumford rebounded a missed foul shot on his end, fed Burdine at the 3-point line, then watched him drain it to give Reading a 53-52 lead - its first since late in the second quarter - with 1:48 to go.

"We saw they were getting rattled," Burdine said. "You could tell on their faces, they were shook."

The Cards, playing a controlled, smart and aggressive game until the late collapse, held their own against Reading's game-long fullcourt pressure.

Central gained control of the game over the middle two quarters because of its strong defense, a smartly played 2-3 matchup that shut off the lane and had the Knights forcing shots from well beyond the 3-point line.

Sophomore Marquis Marshall, playing his best on the court named for his father, former Reading High great Donyell, lifted the Cards on both ends.

He scored nine first-quarter points and finished with a team- and career-high 20 points.

Marshall was a key on defense, too, using his long wing span to shut off Reading's perimeter game.

The Red Knights made just seven field goals over the second and third periods, and when Joey Rys hit a jumper the Cards led 46-34 late in the third period.

The Red Knights made less than a third of their shots overall, but once again it was their pressure defense that saved them.

In the final three minutes they cranked up the heat, and the Cards melted.

"We fell apart there at the end," said Central coach Snip Esterly. "All game long we handled it, but they picked it up a notch and momentum just swung their way. Everything swung their way."

Burdine picked Dawkins for a second time deep in the backcourt and scored with 1:41 left to make it a 55-52 lead.

Yamil Echavarria stole another pass seconds later and fed Burdine for a 57-52 lead with 1:30 left.

"When they feel a team's shaky," Redding said, "they're gonna go after them. It was a matter of going after it once they smelled it."

The Cards weren't finished, though. Rys hit a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game with 44 seconds left, but Dawkins - who finished with 13 points and 12 boards - missed a deep 3 with 28 seconds to go.

Huffman hit twice from the line with 27 seconds to go for a 60-55 lead and the Knights were on their way to the title game.

"We should've had it," Dawkins said. "We had it in the bag. We were up the whole game. We played defense, but we couldn't finish on the other end."